Methods and devices for playing multi-line card games

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices for playing a multi-line card game, e.g. a poker game, are described. An array of cards arranged in columns and rows is provided, together with one or more paylines. Each time a winning combination occurs, the cards involved in the combination are removed and the voids thus formed are filled by new cards, thus creating the possibility of automatic generation of winning combinations. If no winning combination is shown on the array, the player can swap two cards in order to form a desired winning combination.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to card games. In particular, it relatesto methods and devices for playing multi-line card games.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect, a method for playing a multi-line card gameis provided, comprising: providing an array of cards arranged in columnsand rows; providing a plurality of paylines; each time one or morewinning combinations are obtained, removing cards involved in the one ormore winning combinations, thus forming voids in the array; and fillingthe voids in the array by automatic dealing of new cards.

According to a second aspect, a processor-operated device is provided,comprising: a screen, the screen displaying a multi-line card game witha plurality of paylines; a first software arrangement for removing, eachtime one or more winning combinations are obtained, cards involved inthe one or more winning combinations are removed, thus forming voids inthe array; a second software arrangement for filling the voids in thearray by automatic dealing of new cards in further presence of absenceof automatic shifting of one or more cards already present in the array;and a third software arrangement for allowing selection, by a player, oftwo cards of the array of cards, wherein the two selected cards areswapped if one or more winning combinations occur upon swapping and thetwo selected cards are not swapped if no winning combinations occur uponswapping.

According to a third aspect, a method for playing a multi-line card gameis provided, comprising: providing an array of cards arranged in columnsand rows; providing one or more paylines; allowing a player to selectadjacent cards and attempt exchanging the adjacent cards to obtain oneor more winning combinations; and either allowing exchange of theadjacent cards if the one or more winning combinations can be obtainedor preventing the exchange of the adjacent cards if the one or morewinning combinations cannot be obtained.

According to a fourth aspect, a method for playing a multi-line cardgame is provided, comprising: providing an array of cards arranged incolumns and rows; each time one or more winning combinations areobtained, removing cards involved in the one or more winningcombinations, thus forming voids in the array; and filling the voids inthe array by automatic dealing of new cards, wherein the one or morewinning combinations are established by a pattern not necessarilylimited to a column or a row.

According to a fifth aspect, a method for playing a multi-line card gameis provided, comprising: providing an array of cards arranged in columnsand rows; if one or more winning combinations are obtained, removingcards involved in the one or more winning combinations; and replacingthe removed cards by dealing of new cards.

A first advantage of the present disclosure is that of providing aplayer with the opportunity to make multiple, winning hands per wager.Moreover, the player is provided with the opportunity to create awinning hand through the strategic use of other cards or hands. Anotheradvantage is that of allowing a player to play a plurality of handssimultaneously, e.g., 10 or 12 hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an array of cards arranged in columns and rows presented ona screen of an electronic device, such as a computer or a stand-alonegaming unit.

FIG. 2 shows a player-generated swapping of two adjacent cards.

FIG. 3 shows the winning combination obtained through the swapping ofFIG. 2, where the cards involved in the winning combination arehighlighted.

FIG. 4 shows how voids are filled in the array of cards upon removal ofthe cards involved in the winning combination of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows two automatic winning combinations obtained by virtue ofthe card replacement of FIG. 4, where the cards involved in the winningcombination are highlighted.

FIG. 6 shows how voids are filled in the array of cards upon removal ofthe cards involved in the winning combination of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows an automatic winning combination obtained by virtue of thecard replacement of FIG. 6, where the cards involved in the winningcombination are highlighted.

FIG. 8 shows how voids are filled in the array of cards upon removal ofthe cards involved in the winning combination of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows the entire array filled by virtue of the card replacementof FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 shows schematically a processor-operated device suitable tohost, display and allow play with the card game of this disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart diagram explaining some software-made logicoperations made during the game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a playfield (10) comprising an array of twenty-five cards(20) arranged in five columns and five rows. Also shown are fivehorizontal paylines (30), five vertical paylines (40) and two diagonalpaylines (50). The diagonal paylines (50) go from the top-left corner ofthe array to the bottom-right corner, and from the bottom-left corner ofthe array to the top-right corner. For clarity reasons, only the tophorizontal payline, leftmost vertical payline and bottom-left totop-right diagonal payline have been shown in the figure.

The number of cards and the number of paylines are for exemplarypurposes only. For example, an array of N×N cards could be provided foran N-card game. Moreover, independently of the number of paylines(which, by way of further example, could include horizontal paylines andvertical paylines only), one of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure provides that a player is able to select a subset of allpaylines available to him or her.

The arrangement of FIG. 1 can be provided on the screen of a computer ora stand-alone machine. The computer or machine can comprise one or moreRISC processors, if desired. See, for example, the processor-operateddevice (800) of FIG. 10, which includes a screen (810) and a softwarearrangement, e.g. software code, for operating the method describedbelow. The person skilled in the art will understand that also otherembodiments are possible, such as the screen of a mobile or cellularphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, a slot machine, aTV set or any other digital media device, and so on. The various buttonsand commands shown in FIG. 1 can be activated by way of a touch screen,a mouse, selection buttons etc. The stand-alone machine can be, forexample, a coin-, card- or credit-operated entertainment machine and canbe installed in places such as casinos, restaurants, pubs, video arcadesand so on.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main player-generated move of the methodaccording to the present disclosure is a card-swapping move (60), wherethe position of two adjacent cards (70, 80) is exchanged. While FIG. 2shows a horizontal swapping movement, other swapping movements are alsopossible, such as a vertical swapping movement of two verticallyadjacent cards and a diagonal swapping movement of two diagonallyadjacent cards. Other embodiments of the present disclosure can providethat also non-adjacent cards can be swapped.

The rationale behind the card swapping is that of forming one or morewinning combinations along at least one of the horizontal, vertical ordiagonal paylines. In the example of FIG. 2, the movement will put theQueen of Diamonds (80) on the same vertical payline (100) (see FIG. 3)of the Queen of Spades (90), thus allowing a ‘Jacks or Better’ winningcombination to be obtained. As shown in FIG. 3, the cards involved inthe combination have been highlighted. The person skilled in the artwill understand that any combination satisfying a criterion preset bythe manufacturer, gaming company or operator can be selected torepresent a “winning combination”. By way of example and not oflimitation, any pair can be set to represent a winning combination.Moreover, a return rate can be controllable in accordance with thegaming company policy and local regulations. For example, the returnrates (payback percentages) can be anywhere between 89% and 98%. Suchreturns can be achieved, for example, through selection between presetpaytables.

Turning back to FIG. 1, a PAYS window (110) is shown, which indicatesthe amount of credits to be provided to the player for a ‘Jacks orBetter’ combination, in this case one credit. Therefore, one credit willbe added to the player's balance, and an updated balance will be shownin the BALANCE window (120) of FIG. 1.

At the same time or immediately thereafter, the cards involved in thecombination (in this case cards (80) and (90)) will be discarded (thuscreating two voids in the array) and an equal amount of cards will beautomatically dealt, to fill the two voids. Throughout the presentdisclosure, the term “automatically” or “automatic” will be used toindicate absence of player intervention. Filling of the voids is shownby arrow (130) in FIG. 4, where newly introduced cards (140, 150) willfill the void formed by previously discarded cards (80, 90). It is worthnoting that, according to the embodiment discussed herein, only thecards involved in the combination are removed, while the other,non-winning cards, remain in play. In particular, the non-winning cardswill remain in play until either there are no winning possibilities orthe player re-deals the playfield, as later explained in more detail.However, alternative embodiments are possible, where not only the cardsinvolved in the combination, but also cards pertaining to the same rowor column of the cards involved in the combination are discarded.Moreover, the reader will appreciate that, differently from usual pokergames, there is no player involvement with reference to held anddiscarded cards. Turning to the newly introduced cards (140), (150),those cards can be selected randomly by the machine or software from anew deck of cards. Alternatively, the new cards can be selected by thesame deck of cards of the previous selection. Further alternatives cancomprise a mixed selection (part from the old deck, part from a newdeck), a multi-deck selection and so on.

As better shown in FIG. 5, card (140) is an Ace of Diamonds, while card(150) is a Jack of Hearts. Their presence in the array willautomatically create two different winning combinations: a first ‘Jacksor Better’ combination along vertical payline (100) and a second ‘Jacksor Better’ combination along horizontal payline (160). The combinationalong vertical payline (100) will involve cards (150) and (170) (Jack ofHearts and Jack of Clubs, respectively). The combination alonghorizontal payline (160) will involve cards (140) and (180) (Ace ofDiamonds and Ace of Clubs, respectively). As a consequence of these twocombinations, similarly to what explained above with reference to thefirst winning combination, two credits (one credit for every credit beton the winning payline) will be added to the player's balance, and theupdated balance will be shown in window (120) of FIG. 1.

As soon as this is done, the cards involved in the combination (in thiscase cards (140), (150), (170) and (180)) will be discarded and an equalamount of cards will be dealt, to fill the four voids in the array. Thisis shown by arrows (190, 200) in FIG. 6, where cards (210, 220, 230, and240) will fill the voids formed by previously discarded cards (140, 150,170 and 180).

As better shown in FIG. 7, card (210) is a Five of Clubs, card (220) isa Seven of Clubs, card (230) is a Three of Spades, and card (240) is anAce of Clubs. Their presence in the array will create a ‘3 of a Kind’winning combination along horizontal payline (250), involving cards(230, 260 and 270). As a consequence of this combination, similarly towhat explained above with reference to the previous winningcombinations, three credits (in accordance with the values of table(110) of FIG. 1) will be added to the player's balance, and the updatedbalance will be shown in window (120) of FIG. 1.

As soon as this is done, the cards involved in the combination (in thiscase cards (230), (260) and (270)) will be discarded and an equal amountof cards will be dealt, to fill any voids in the array. In the exampleshown in FIG. 7, some cards, located in the same vertical line of thediscarded cards, will remain above the void generated by discardingcards (230), (260) and (270). In particular, i) cards (210) and (220)will remain above the void generated by discarding card (230), ii) cards(240) and (280) will remain above the void generated by discarding card(260), and iii) cards (290) and (300) will remain above the voidgenerated by discarding card (270). As a consequence of this, as bettershown in FIG. 8, cards (210), (220) will move one step downward in thedirection of arrow (310), cards (240), (280) will move one step downwardin direction of arrow (320), and cards (290), (300) will move one stepdownward in direction of arrow (330). This movement will create threevoids in the three leftmost positions of the top horizontal line, whichwill be filled by three new cards (340), (350) and (360), as also shownin FIG. 9.

The reader will appreciate that while some winning combinations occurupon a card swapping performed by the player (see FIGS. 2 and 3), someother winning combinations occur automatically as a consequence ofautomatic introduction of new cards and automatic card shifting uponfilling of the voids created by discarding the previously winning cards(see FIGS. 4 through 9). Automatic occurrence of winning combinationscreates a pleasant visual effect to the player, especially if oneautomatic win follows another, with a consequent creation of a nicecascading effect, not to mention the quick increase of the balance atthe player's disposal.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8, void filling by way of cardshifting and card dealing occurs in a top-to-bottom direction. However,the person skilled in the art will appreciate that card shifting andcard dealing could also occur in a bottom-to-top, right-to-left, orleft-to-right direction. Additionally, the directions could also changeduring the game, either randomly or according to a pattern.

As initially discussed with reference to FIG. 1, one embodiment of thepresent disclosure is based on a plurality of paylines. According to afurther related embodiment, each time a winning combination is obtained,the payline or paylines related to the winning combination orcombinations are shown or highlighted to the player, in order to helpthe player's immediate understanding of the kind of winningcombination(s) reached. See, for example, FIG. 3, where payline (100) isshown, FIG. 5, where paylines (100) and (160) are shown, FIG. 7, wherepayline (250) is shown, or FIG. 9, where payline (370) is shown.

Turning back to the representation shown in FIG. 1, some additionalcomponents not discussed so far will be now explained. In particular, aDEAL button or command (400) is shown, which a) can allow the game tobegin as soon as activated and b) allows the player to redeal the entireplayfield at any time during the game.

A SWAP indicator (410) can also be shown. This indicator allows theplayer to see how much he or she is paying to swap the position of twocards. The amount of the swap cost is usually selected by the gamingcompany and may be linked to the amounts shown in the PAYS window (110).

A BET indicator (420) can also be present, showing the amount to be paidby a player each time the DEAL command (400) is activated. In theexample shown in FIG. 1, the BET amount is set to 12. In other words,there will be instances where no combination will be present in thearray and no card swapping will allow a winning combination. If thishappens, the player will either cash out or start a new hand by hittingthe DEAL button (400). As soon as this happens, a new set of twenty-fivecards will be dealt and the BALANCE (120) of the player will bedecreased by the amount set in the BET area (420). Such amount caneither be set by the gaming company or by the player herself. Moreover,as already explained above, the DEAL command (400) allows a player toredeal the entire playfield independently of the possibility of awinning card swapping.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is a WIN section (430). Section (430) allows aplayer to understand the amount of a particular win. Each time a newcard or cards are dealt, the WIN counter is reset to zero. In a furtherembodiment, a WINNING HANDS section (not shown) can be provided, toprovide track of some of the previous wins, similarly to what done atRoulette tables.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method issoftware-based and such software can be provided on a host computer andplayers can play the game on client devices. Therefore, Internet onlinegaming, networked gaming within a casino, networked gaming betweencasinos, large novelty devices, non-gaming variations both online andoffline, and game consoles can be contemplated.

Now that the operation of the method according to the present disclosurehas been explained in detail, the technical underpinnings of some of themoves discussed so far will be addressed.

The card swapping mechanism shown, for example, in FIG. 2 cancomprise 1) selection of a first card; 2) selection of a second,adjacent, card; and either 3) swapping the two cards if a winningcombination can be obtained after swapping; or 4) keeping the two cardsin place if no winning combination is possible upon swapping. By way ofexample and not of limitation, step 4) can show the cards changing theirposition for a brief moment and immediately thereafter returning totheir original position. The steps discussed in the present paragraphcan be performed by software means by analyzing each wager-line theswapped cards are contained within and comparing each resulting handagainst wins described by the pay table, starting, for example, withJacks or Better pairs in the embodiment discussed so far.

With reference to the mechanism for automatically dealing cards to fillany voids in the array, FIG. 11 provides a schematic flowchart showingsome of the logic operations involved.

As shown in FIG. 11, a player initially selects two cards to swap (stepS1). In response to that selection, each card is moved to the other'sposition (step S2). In step S3 presence of a valid pay, i.e. at leastone winning combination, is assessed. If there is no valid pay, the flowreturns to its starting condition. If, on the other hand, there is avalid pay, the winning cards are highlighted and then removed after apause (step S4). In step S5 a random process occurs to randomly selectthe new cards to be dealt. In step S6 the new cards animate to the voids(shifting of some existing cards may also occur). If there is a validpay (step S7, YES branch) the flow returns to step S4. On the otherhand, if there is no valid pay (step S7, NO branch), the flow returns toits starting condition.

As usual with games of this kind, celebratory animations and audio playcan be provided in conjunction with particular moments of the game, suchas winning hands, newly dealt cards, their sliding in position from offscreen, and so on.

According to another embodiment, one or more cards may be designated aswild cards or one or more Jokers may be added to the playfield anddesignated as wild cards. This allows the methods of the presentdisclosure to be also applied to video poker games such as Deuces Wildor Joker's Wild.

According to a further embodiment, selection of the new cards to bedealt can be done in a non-random manner.

According to yet another embodiment, a progressive or variable payoutcan be established for a winning hand.

Another embodiment can tie a payout to patterns overlaid in theplayfield rather than one of the paylines. For example, in a variationof play that favors Flush pays, arranging the cards so that the samesuit in each corner and the center place of the array would result in 5cards of equal suit, paying either the equivalent Flush pay or someother predetermined amount. To vary the difficulty of completing thepattern, the number of cards needed to fulfill the pattern can bevariable from one card to the entire N×N array.

According to an additional embodiment, also non-adjacent cards (i.e.cards from any two locations in the array) can be swapped.

Accordingly, what has been shown are methods and devices for playingmulti-line card games. While these methods and devices have beendescribed by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, itis understood that numerous modifications and variations could be madethereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosure. It is therefore to be understood thatwithin the scope of the claims, the disclosure may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described herein.

1-3. (canceled)
 4. The method of claim 8, wherein the automatic dealingof the new cards occurs in a direction selected from a group consistingof: top-to-bottom direction, bottom-to-top direction, left-to rightdirection, and right-to-left direction.
 5. The method of claim 8,wherein the filling the voids in the array also includes automaticshifting of one or more cards already present in the array. 6.(canceled)
 7. The method of claim 8, wherein the two cards are adjacentcards.
 8. A method for playing a multi-line card game comprising:providing an array of cards arranged in columns and rows; providing aplurality of paylines; selecting two cards of the array of cards,wherein the two selected cards are swapped if one or more winningcombinations are to occur upon swapping, and are kept in place if nowinning combination can occur upon swapping; setting, prior to swapping,a cost associated with the swapping to allow wagering on the swapping;each time one or more winning combinations are obtained, removing cardsinvolved in the one or more winning combinations, thus forming voids inthe array, the cards involved in the one or more winning combinationsbeing the only cards removed; and filling the voids in the array byautomatic dealing of new cards.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theselecting is allowed each time no winning combinations are present inthe array of cards.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofpaylines include at least one of: horizontal paylines, vertical paylinesand diagonal paylines.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein a subset ofthe plurality of paylines is selectable by a player.
 12. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the method is for playing multi-line poker games. 13.The method of claim 8, wherein the method is electronically implemented.14. A processor-operated device comprising: a screen, the screendisplaying a multi-line card game with a plurality of paylines; a firstsoftware arrangement for removing, each time one or more winningcombinations are obtained, cards involved in the one or more winningcombinations are removed, thus forming voids, the cards involved in theone or more winning combinations being the only cards removed; a secondsoftware arrangement for filling the voids by automatic dealing of newcards in further presence of absence of automatic shifting of one ormore cards already present; a third software arrangement for allowingselection, by a player, of two cards, wherein the two selected cards areswapped if one or more winning combinations occur upon swapping and thetwo selected cards are not swapped if no winning combinations occur uponswapping; and a fourth software arrangement for setting, prior toswapping, a cost associated with the swapping to allow the player towager on the swapping. 15-16. (canceled)
 17. The device of claim 14,wherein the two selected cards are horizontally, vertically ordiagonally adjacent cards.
 18. The device of claim 14, wherein theprocessor is a RISC processor.
 19. The device of claim 14, wherein thedevice is selected between a mobile or cellular phone, a personaldigital assistant, a computer, a slot machine, and a TV site.
 20. Thedevice of claim 14, wherein the device is a digital media device. 21.The device of claim 14, wherein the first, second and third softwarearrangement are software code residing remotely of the device.
 22. Thedevice of claim 14, further comprising commands comprising one or moreof the following: setting an amount of each bet, and requesting a newarray of cards to be dealt.
 23. The device of claim 14, wherein thesetting the swapping-cost command is not a player-generated command. 24.The device of claim 14, wherein the screen further displays one or moreof the following sections: a balance section, a win section, a total winsection, and a winning hands section.
 25. The device of claim 14,wherein each time the one or more winning combinations are obtained, thecards involved in the one or more winning combinations are highlightedbefore being removed.
 26. The device of claim 25, wherein each time theone or more winning combinations are obtained, the paylines involved inthe one or more winning combinations are shown. 27.-34. (canceled)